Reports of the death of Independent Jewish Voices are greatly exaggerated. Mark Twain's famous comment when he read his own obituary in the New York Journal could not be more apposite here. Seth Freedman's triumphalism in his article on Cif is no more than a wish. IJV hit a nerve and struck a chord in relation to the climate of debate over the Middle East conflict.

Since its dramatically successful launch (on that much we agree) in February 2007, its importance and necessity have increased. We were overwhelmed then, and still are, by the extent of the support we received and continue to receive from groups and individuals in Britain and round the world, all wanting to join their voices to the increasing numbers who feel the need to speak out on the continuing injustice of Israel's policies towards the Palestinians, and its violation of human rights on a daily basis in the occupied territories. Although Seth Freedman has written on these abuses elsewhere, he mentions them only as an aside in this piece, as if not wanting to acknowledge that this is the core of IJV's rationale.

The number of errors and misrepresentations in Freedman's piece are breathtaking. IJV never promised "all kinds of radical solutions to the conflict," considering that to be outside our brief. Nor were we intent on "wresting power" from the Board of Deputies. We did and do feel that the board's uncritical public support for Israeli policy, for example during the 2006 Lebanon war, needs to be questioned, and was alienating to many Jews, as responses to our launch have confirmed. We have never claimed to be "representative of the British Jewish community," not least because we see Jews in Britain as constituting a multifaceted rather than a monolithic community. Our approach is neither "vague" nor "indistinct" but based on a set of precise principles laid out in our declaration, such as the need for all parties to observe international law, a principle whose political implications for human rights in the region are vast.

Nor do we, despite the suggestion to the contrary, support as a group a one-state solution. As it happens, one of our signatories has just published a much-publicised Fabian pamphlet promoting a two-state solution. This is a question about which our signatories hold, quite legitimately, different views. What IJV believes in is the need to help foster an atmosphere in which issues such as these - the one or two-state solution, the question of the boycott - can be debated in a constructive way, not dismissed out of court. In the scorn he pours over the one-state solution as a topic for discussion, Freedman wonderfully demonstrates the very problem IJV was created partly to address. Certainly none of us have called for the "eradication" of Israel (David Hirsh's repeated attribution to us of "hostility to Israel" on the Engage website on Tuesday is equally wide of the mark). It is the repeated conflation of criticism with hostility or enmity to Israel which fosters the unhealthy climate of discussion that IJV wishes to redress. The hectoring, sarcastic tone of his piece says much, as does his contradictory claim that on the one hand, we can be dismissed as irrelevant, that we are not "taken seriously", and on the other we are "dangerous" and "divisive".

Rabbi David Goldberg's resignation is a matter for regret but he speaks only for himself. The large steering group from which he stood down is united in its continuing commitment to our founding objectives and principles. We are pleased to include a number of rabbis among our signatories. IJV is, and will continue to be, fully engaged with the Jewish and wider worlds. Apart from providing speakers, contributing articles and preparing a book, our successful public meetings have been a forum for fair and open debate. New supporters are signing on and similar groups are forming in other countries. We are proud of what we have done so far, and confident of our continuing role, as long as the conflict continues.

Click here for a full list of articles in the Independent Jewish Voices debate.